The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) announces that its key performances – average daily securities trading value and derivatives volumes -- in the first half of 2013 exceeded its targets and beat other stock exchanges in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, market capitalization from initial public offerings (IPOs) increased THB 149 billion (approx. USD 4.8 billion) and the quality equity investor base grew by almost 70,000 persons. The success was attributed to the exchange’s strategy to continue “Matching your Right Financial Opportunities.”

Following these achievements, the exchange has adjusted its targets for this year to be more in line with market conditions.

SET President Charamporn Jotikasthira said that although global investment was volatile, SET continued to make key milestones this year, after hitting record highs in 2012. For H1/2013, average daily securities trading value was at THB 61.5 billion (USD 1.98 billion) jumping 90 percent from the average in 2012, while market capitalization reached THB 149 billion due to 16 initial public offerings, exceeding the end-2013 target of THB120 billion. Additional funds raised by existing listed securities hit the whole-year target of THB 104.8 billion, as THB 87 billion from cash, THB 10.4 billion from share swaps, and THB 7.4 billion from stock dividends was raised.

Efforts to expand the quality investor base for securities trading also reached its target, rising by nearly 70,000 persons, while online investment also grew strongly, with Internet trading accounts rising by 90,000 accounts, well on its way to reach its whole-year target of 120,000 accounts.

Average daily trading volume of derivatives trading surged 79 percent from 2012 to 78,656 contracts, mainly because the number of underlying securities for single stock futures doubled to 60 (as of July 15). Each underlying futures was a SET100 constituent and had a market value of over THB10 billion.”

SET Executive Vice President Pakorn Peetathawatchai gave an overview of stock market conditions and trading volumes in the first half, saying that although the volatility of liquidity in the global market depressed the SET index in the second quarter of this year, the movement was in line with those of other exchanges in the region, with trading valuation remaining high. Meanwhile, trading volume of derivatives rose in the second quarter compared to the same period of last year, due mainly to trading of single stock futures.

At the end of June, the SET index closed at 1,451.90 points, up 4.31 percent from the end of last year. SET’s market value reached THB 12.53 trillion (USD 404.20 billion), up 5.89 percent from 2012, while the Market for Alternative Investment's (mai) market valuation was at THB 174.14 billion (USD 5.62 billion), up 31 percent. SET dividend yields were at 2.96 percent and its forward P/E ratio was 13.41 times, higher than the 12.22 of a year earlier, while mai’s was at 17.28 times, up from 11.75 times last year. Foreign investors were net sellers in the first six months, selling a net THB 76.45 billion (USD 2.46 billion), accounting for 24.62 percent of total trading valuation.

Charamporn said given the successes and efforts to be the leading bourse in the region and favorable changes in trading conditions, the exchange raised some targets for 2013 as follows: average daily securities trading to be THB 49.5 billion (USD 1.6 billion), up 53 percent from 2012 and up from its previous target of 32 billion; average derivatives trading volume is to become 66,000 contracts per day, rising 51 percent from last year and up from its previous target of 50,000.

The number of new derivatives remained below target for the first half, although SET expects new accounts to grow 30 percent in the second half of this year, causing the number of new accounts to be 14,000 by year-end (from 22,000 previously). Meanwhile, SET also raised its target for increase in market capitalization from IPOs this year to THB 180 billion (USD 5.81 billion), up from its old THB120 billion target and up 56 percent from last year.

For information technology, SET has revamped the working processes of its data center and core business services and they now are certified to meet the IT international safety standard ISO/IEC 27001:2005. In addition, SET and all member securities firms are re-engineering their post-trade systems to further reduce work volume and costs, making them meet international standards more closely.

For longer-term market development, SET has continued to develop corporate governance (CG) by encouraging implementation of CG principles and best practices by listed companies to ensure readiness for the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community. The CG of Thai listed firms has topped all other ASEAN companies, according to the World Bank’s corporate governance country assessment, which gave the Thai capital market a score of 82.23 percent. In addition, ASEAN CG Scorecard results, measuring the CG of ASEAN listed firms, found that Thai listed companies averaged 67.66 percent, tops in ASEAN.

SET continued to enhance Thai listed firms to qualify for Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). So far this year, 35 Thai companies have been invited for sustainability evaluation for possible addition to the DJSI Emerging Markets Index. Of these 35, 15 are under consideration for the DJSI World index.

Moreover, SET has continued to build the expertise of investors and professionals. In the first half of this year, seminars, other training, and the “Savings in stocks by TSI” program were held for investors and the general public nationwide, attracting more than 12,000 persons. During this period, online learning attracted 3.7 million page views, and more than 30,000 provident fund members gained knowledge on retirement planning. In addition, SET established SET Investment Centers (SET IC) in seven universities to become regional investment centers. SET also trained 450 investment consultants in six provinces through “Strengthening IC@Provinces” projects.

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It is commonplace in journalism to write two types of articles at the transition point between the year that has passed and the New Year. As this writer qualifies as an “old hand” in observing Thailand with a track record dating back 14 years, it is time take a shot at what may unfold in Thailand in 2011.

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